Chapter 14 - The Transfer That Did Not Exist
The corridor filled with tension so quickly that even the inmates behind the dayroom glass stopped talking.
Grant kept both hands visible.
“You are not transporting her until control verifies the order.”
The taller transport officer stepped closer.
“We already verified it.”
“With who?”
“Regional.”
“Name?”
The man hesitated.
That was enough.
Grant reached for his radio.
The second officer grabbed his wrist.
Everything exploded at once.
An alarm sounded.
Two unit officers rushed from the desk.
Ana backed against the wall as commands overlapped.
“Hands where I can see them!”
“Step away!”
“Drop the radio!”
The transport officers were disarmed and detained within ninety seconds.
Neither worked for the Department of Corrections.
Their uniforms were convincing.
Their vehicle was not.
It had magnetic agency decals, borrowed license plates, and a transport cage bolted into the back.
Ana stared at it through a narrow window from the administration building.
“Where were they taking me?”
Investigator Shaw stood beside her.
“We don’t know yet.”
“That is not a comforting answer.”
“No.”
“Who sent them?”
“We recovered a phone.”
Shaw looked exhausted.
“The last number dialed belongs to Marco Vega.”
Ana closed her eyes.
Lucia had reached outside the prison.
Phelps had not been the whole system.
He had only been one door.
Warden Keller entered.
“I should have known about that transfer before it reached the unit.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because someone created it in the regional scheduling portal using stolen credentials.”
Ana looked at Shaw.
“So there’s another staff member.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Or someone outside has access to credentials they should not have.”
Ana laughed once, without humor.
“This keeps getting bigger.”
Shaw’s phone buzzed.
She read the message and her expression changed.
“What?” Ana asked.
Shaw turned the screen toward Keller.
Phelps had agreed to cooperate.
Not out of conscience.
Out of fear.
He claimed Lucia had kept a handwritten ledger of every favor, payment, and staff contact for three years.
Keller asked, “Where is it?”
Shaw read the next line.
“Inside Redwood.”
Ana thought of Tasha in the laundry room.
The brown bag.
The torn schedule.
The dryer.
Then she remembered something Renee once told her.
May you like
Lucia never stored important things in her cell.
Ana whispered, “Check Table Seven.”
